Breakdown of Эта сделка состоялась в 2019 году, а новое производство открыли в 2020 году.
а
and (contrastive)
новый
new
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
год
year
в
on / during (a time period)
открыть
to open
состояться
to take place
сделка
the deal (f)
производство
the production (n)
Questions & Answers about Эта сделка состоялась в 2019 году, а новое производство открыли в 2020 году.
Why does год change to году instead of the usual Prepositional -е ending?
The word год (year) is an exception. When talking about a specific year using the preposition в (in), it takes the irregular ending -у instead of -е. The stress also falls on this ending: в году.
How do I actually say 2019 and 2020 out loud in this sentence?
In Russian, years are read as ordinal numbers, similar to saying 'the two thousand nineteenth year' in English. To say 'in a year', only the very last word of the number changes into the Prepositional case. So, в 2019 году is read as в две тысячи девятнадцатом году, and в 2020 году is в две тысячи двадцатом году.
Why does the sentence use открыли (they opened) if there is no они (they) mentioned?
This is a common Russian structure. By using the plural past tense открыли without a specific subject, it shows that the action happened but who exactly did it isn't important. It translates well to the English passive voice ('the new production was opened') or a general statement ('they opened the new production').
Why use the conjunction а here instead of и to say 'and'?
The word а is used because there is a slight shift in focus or contrast between the two halves of the sentence. The first part is about the deal in 2019, and the second part shifts to a new topic: the production in 2020. If you were just listing consecutive actions by the same subject, you would use и.
Why does the verb состоялась (took place) end with -сь?
The infinitive form is состояться (to take place / to happen). It is a reflexive verb, which means it has a -ся or -сь at the end. Because the subject сделка (deal) is a feminine noun, the past tense takes the feminine reflexive ending -лась.
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